Alive and Well!

What a beautiful day it’s been! More and more trees and flowers are budding and blooming. What a difference there is between Spring when life is everywhere to be seen and Winter where everything around us appears to be dead. In some cases it is but in many cases it is only in a dormant state. Whichever the case, the fact is that it can be a very depressing time.

As I thought about today being the day before Easter I began to wonder how this day must have been for the disciples. Was it a beautiful day like today or was it ugly and overcast, a picture of gloom? Whatever the weather was that day there is no doubt that it was full of sorrow and maybe even doubt for them. The man they had chosen to follow for the last three years had been horribly crucified and then buried in a borrowed tomb. It appeared to be the end for them because they may possibly be next. They surely didn’t really understand and believe what Jesus said about rising on the third day. Boy, were they in for a big surprise! The next day would change their lives for ever.

One day this week I was listening to David Jeremiah on the radio and he reminded his audience of an event that occurred during Jesus’ ministry here on earth. It involved the death of very close friend, a man named Lazarus. His two sisters, Mary and Martha, had sent for Jesus several days before Lazarus died because they knew that He could heal him if He was only there. When Jesus finally did arrive Lazarus had been dead for several days and Mary and Martha were distraught that Jesus had not been there. When Martha said to Jesus that if He had been there their brother would not have died, Jesus responded with these words; “Your brother will rise again.” Martha replied that she knew he would rise again in the resurrection on the last day. What Jesus said to her at this point is so foundational to our faith that we should be constantly reminded of it. His words are recorded in John 11:25-26 and here they are:

“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believe in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

We should remember that there are two types of death; physical death and spiritual death which is eternal separation from God. Jesus told Martha in these two verses that even if we experience the dreaded physical death we can still live and never experience the spiritual death that He referred to. Paul says in his writings that if we have put our faith and trust in Jesus then to be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord. In other words, we just change locations. So the question that Jesus posed to Martha is one that we also must answer. Do we really believe that He is the resurrection and the life? Do we believe that even though we may die we will live forever with Him? He settled it all when He shed His blood on Calvary and then rose from the grave on the third day. He is alive and well, seated at the right hand of the Father waiting to bring His bride home. I believe! Do you?